Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who has performed well in this IPL, has not given up on his dream of playing for India again and will give “his best” to the tournament in the United States The T20 World Cup also features West Indies next month. Karthik, who will turn 39 when the World Cup starts on June 1, also played in the last T20I World Cup in Australia in 2022, which was also his last appearance for Team India.

Since then, he has become an off-field cricket expert and is involved in commentary.

After returning to the IPL this season, he took his batting to the next level and showed amazing batting power with a strike rate of over 205. He is also RCB’s third-leading scorer with 226 points, behind Virat Kohli (361) and skipper Faf du Plessis (232) .

“Representing India would be the biggest feeling for me at this stage of my life. I am very, very keen to do that. Nothing is more important in my life than representing India in this T20 World Cup.” RCB the wicketkeeper-batsman said before the match against KKR.

With Kartik also emerging as a contender, the wicketkeeper position will be a hotly contested one and the Indian team think tank may choose at most two.

Rishabh Pant, who has recovered from a near-fatal accident, has also shown positive intentions during his tenure as captain of Delhi Capitals, as have Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Ishan Kishan ( Mumbai Indians), KL Rahul (Lucknow Supergiants) are also in contention.

Kartik said he would respect any decision taken by the big three – coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

“I also feel that three very, very stable, honest people in Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar are at the helm to decide which Indian team should be The best team in the World Cup.

“I fully support them. I respect whatever decision they make. But all I can say is that I’m 100 percent ready and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get on the flight to the World Cup.”

‘I’m not Russell or Pollard’

Katic further emphasized the importance of knowing your strengths as a player, focusing on precision rather than power hitting like Andre Russell or Kieron Pollard.

He said he analyzes bowlers’ patterns to develop shooting strategies and imagines scenarios during practice to enhance his batting skills.

“Today, as a player, you need to know your strengths. I’m not someone like Russell or Pollard, who can just miss one ball and get six runs,” Karthik said.

Kartik hit 7 sixes and 5 fours in 83 balls off 35 balls the other day in pursuit of a record 288 runs, but RCB ended up trailing by just 25 runs.

“So, I need to understand how to overcome the gaps, what kind of balls I can hit to get over the boundaries. I realize that there are certain patterns in bowlers bowling to me, so I need to try and figure out solutions to that.

“So when I practice, I try to understand, okay, if this is what they’re going to throw at me, how am I going to get the boundary, imagine a field that’s going to be prepared for me.

“So, I just worked that way and then worked backwards, and it helped me, you know, really learn a few more shots on the back end. It’s been great to get out there and express myself, and it’s been very enjoyable to do what I do as a finisher. What he has done for RCB,” he added.